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“But how will I know that I’ve found my soulmate?” I ask.
“You’ll know, dear,” my mother runs her fingers along my face. “It’s like the world finally comes to life,” she says with a smile.
“Is Dad your soulmate?”
“Yes, he is,” her hand rests on my cheek. “And you are proof of our love.”
I smile, pressing my face even closer to her hand.
“Mom, do you think it’ll take long for me to find my soulmate?” I hold her hands that remained in the same place.
“I don’t know, little one. Your dad and I met when we were just 10, but your Aunt Iris found Aunt Mirella at 25. You’ll find them at the right time.”
“I’m scared…” I say hesitantly.
“Scared?” she asks.
I remove her hands from my face, holding them in my lap. I look down and sigh, feeling my face grow wet.
“I’m afraid my soulmate will never show up… or that I’ll find them, and they won’t like me.”
“My love, your soulmate will like you. They will love every little part of you,” she dries the tears streaming down my face. “Just like I love your dad, they will love you.”
“Do you promise?” I ask, teary-eyed.
“I promise,” she laughs and pulls me into a hug.
🦢
I was helping my mom prepare dinner when enforcers invaded my house. Piltover had invaded Zaun and started a genocide. My dad was the first to die, screaming for my mom to take me to a safe place.
“She held me in her arms and ran.”
Motionless bodies were visible on all sides. Houses were on fire, and smoke invaded our vision.
After running a lot, we stopped in a house, which I would soon discover was not an ordinary house.
“I need you to take care of her,” she says, entering a room.
“This is not a place for children…”
“I know,” she cries, squeezing me tightly in her arms.
“But you’re the only one I trust to leave her with.”
I look back and see a Yordle. I see her sigh and rise from her chair.
“Alright,” she says, helping me down from my mother’s arms.
“Mom?” I look at the taller woman, confused.
“It’s okay, my love. She’ll take good care of you,” she says, kneeling in front of me, trying to hold back tears.
“Where are you going?”
“I… Mommy will be right back, okay? Obey Aunt Babette,” she finishes, kissing my forehead and standing up. Then she leaves, giving me one last smile before closing the door.
🦢
My mom was right; Babette took good care of me. Now I was 13 years old, and my mom had never returned. I don’t know what happened, but something tells me she went back to my dad.
“At least they’re still together.”
I sigh and get up from my bed. Babette had told me not to leave because she had something to tell me. I unlock the door to my room, which was at the back of the cabaret, lock it behind me, and head to Babette’s room.
“Aunt Babette?” I enter and see a man.
“Good morning, [Name]!” the man says.
“[Name], this is Vander.”
“Hi,” I say shyly.
“Vander has four children, some your age,” I raise an eyebrow, not knowing where she was going with this. “I talked to him, and he agreed to take you into his home.”
“What?”
Why did she want to get rid of me?
“[Name], this isn’t a place for you. You can still visit me…”
“No. I want to stay with you.”
“[Name], you’re not going to stop seeing Babette,” Vander says. “She just wants what’s best for you.”
“And how do I know that going with you is really what’s best?” I retort.
“As she said, I have four kids there. It’ll be good for you to have interactions with children your age.”
“[Name], you’ll also be safer there. This isn’t a healthy place for a child to grow up.”
The idea of having other kids around was tempting. And this place really wasn’t the best to be. I had seen things I didn’t want to. I looked at Babette and then at Vander.
“Okay, but I’ll only go if I can come here every day.”
“You can,” Vander says. “I would never deny you that.”
🦢
We were walking through the streets of Zaun. With one hand, Vander held my smaller hand, while with the other, he carried my suitcase.
He stops in front of a bar with a big sign that read ‘The Last Drop.’ He pulls a key from his pocket and unlocks it.
“You live in a bar?” I ask, making him laugh.
“My house is behind it,” he opens the door and enters, locking it behind him. The place was big but empty. “I asked the kids to organize things for your arrival.”
We walked among the tables until we stopped behind the counter where there was a door. Before Vander could open it, it was opened, and a little girl came out.
“Welcome, [Name]!” she says enthusiastically.
“Thank you…”
“Powder,” she says.
“Thank you, Powder!” I smile.
Having more kids around really seemed like a good idea.
“Where are the others?” Vander asks.
“Downstairs,” she points. “Come on, [Name]!”
The little girl pulled me downstairs and opened another door, which also had a small staircase. It was a small place with bunk beds and two sofas, where two boys were sitting.
“Welcome!” the older one said, standing up. “I’m Claggor, and this is Mylo.”
“Hey,” Mylo said.
“Hi,” I greet.
“Where’s Vi?”
Vi?
What a strange feeling. It was like my body was getting excited just hearing that name. Like something was pulling me.
Maybe I was just excited to finally meet another girl.
“I’m here!” I hear a soft and familiar voice. A shiver ran down my spine.
What is this?
I hear footsteps coming down the stairs and turn to look at the girl now behind me.
The moment I saw her, a fire exploded in my chest, spreading to the rest of my body. I gasped, moaning softly, as flashes and lights invaded my vision, causing a sharp pain to pierce my head.
“What… what’s happening?” I hear her voice, trembling, seeming to go through the same confusion I was.
When I managed to open my eyes again, the world was… different. As if everything had gained a bit more life.
Then I saw her, equally shaken, holding onto the railing near her. She was beautiful. Her hair was some striking color and pulled back, her eyes shone, and freckles adorned her cheeks. That’s when I realized…
She was my soulmate.
Her gaze was on me, but I couldn’t decipher what she was feeling. It was like being noticed for the first time. My heart was racing.
I took hesitant steps back, trying to keep as much distance from her as possible.
Insecurities were consuming me. My thoughts haunted me.
What if she didn’t like me?
I was pulled from my thoughts by a voice.
“They’re soulmates!” Powder shouted excitedly.
“Kids, go upstairs!” Vander demanded.
I watched the kids leave, looking back at us. Mylo and Claggor had shocked expressions, while Powder wore a big smile. They closed the door, leaving the three of us there.
“So…” Vander broke the silence. “What a coincidence.” He looked at the two of us.
Vi’s eyes were still fixed on me, full of shock.
“I’ll leave you two to talk. Take all the time you need; the others won’t interrupt,” then he also left the room.
I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. Her gaze was indecipherable.
Why isn’t she saying anything?
“My name is Violet,” she said, breaking the silence and approaching, extending her hand to me.
“[Name],” I said, shaking her hand and letting go as soon as I felt that same familiar shiver down my spine.
“Looks like we’ve found each other,” she said, averting her gaze.
“Are you disappointed?” I finally decided to ask.
“Disappointed?” her face filled with pure confusion.
“Yes… Because I’m your soulmate.”
“Of course not, [Name]. Why would I be?”
“I don’t know. I was afraid I wouldn’t be what you expected,” I answered honestly.
“You’re exactly what I expected,” she finally smiled.
“Well… you’re even better than I imagined,” I replied, smiling back.
She moved closer and gently took one of my hands, bringing us even closer to each other.
“Your hair is beautiful,” I said, running a hand through it.
“Vander told me its color is pink,” she replied since, as we couldn’t see colors until meeting our soulmate, it was normal not to know what they were called.
“Then pink is my favorite color from now on,” I said, smiling.
My comment made her smile, and her cheeks turned the same shade as her hair.
“Your cheeks are the color of your hair,” I laughed even more.
“Damn it,” she muttered, trying to cover them with her hands, still smiling.
“Don’t cover them,” I said, taking her hands and lowering them to our laps.
She looked at our joined hands and smiled even more.
“You’re beautiful,” she whispered.
Our eyes met again, and it was impossible to look away. It felt like something was pulling us closer every second. My heart raced, and that same familiar shiver coursed through my body. I moved closer to her face until I could feel her breath against mine. I raised my hand toward her cheek, feeling her soft, warm skin. I brushed my fingers gently, caressing her. My eyes drifted to her lips, and I noticed she did the same.
“I think it might be a little too soon,” I whispered, mere inches from her face.
“We have all the time in the world,” she replied, placing a hand on my cheek and mirroring my movements.
“We’re going to spend our whole lives together.”
“A life with you is all I could ever ask for,” I smiled. “My mother used to tell me that when we met our soulmate, it was like everything came to life. I never understood that, but now I do.”
Our foreheads touched, and time seemed to stop. Being so close, I could see every detail of her eyes, every color blending together to form a beautiful pattern, like an entire universe existed within her gaze. Tears stung my eyes, and I couldn’t stop them from falling. Violet smiled tenderly and, with delicate fingers, wiped the tears that escaped.
I slowly pulled away, just enough to kiss her forehead, a gesture she returned moments later, full of care and affection.
We rested our foreheads together again, closing our eyes and simply enjoying the whirlwind of emotions surrounding us. Feeling the warm, comforting presence of each other, it was as if, in that moment, nothing else existed but us.